President Barack Obama’s name has hit the campaign trail hard because the democratic party desperately needs a win.
So for the first time in 20 months, Obama is reaching out to the black and independent voters whose passion and eagerness to make history, helped propel him into office in 2008.
“We need to finish the plan you elected me to put in place. And I need you. I need you because this isn’t going to be easy,” said Obama at a Congressional Black Caucus’ annual dinner last month. [link]
Obama has made it clear that a loss for the Democrats in November would be a devastating failure for him personally.
“Don’t make me look bad, now,” Obama pleaded at a rally on the campus of historically black Bowie State University last week.
“Two years ago you defied the conventional wisdom in Washington,” Obama told thousands of black supporters Sunday at a rally in Philadelphia. “They said, ‘No you can’t. No you can’t elect a skinny guy with a funny name to the presidency of the United States,’” he added.
But not everyone in the black community hears Obama’s rallying cry. There are some who are suspicious of Obama’s sudden interest in the black community — even if they don’t voice their suspicions out loud.
“We haven’t heard from you in a while,” radio host Tom Joyner said sarcastically to the president at the start of his interview last month. [link]
“You know, I don’t get a chance to do much radio these days,” replied Obama, who records a weekly radio address every Saturday morning.
“We know that people have short memories, but they have to remember that Barack Obama didn’t create this problem,” Carolyn Pinkney, an African-American voter, said at Obama’s rally.
“Of course there’s some disenchantment because the president came in with such high expectations levels,” said Rendell. “But on the other hand there’s still a lot of African-Americans who say, ‘Hey, he’s not superman and he can’t change everything in 20 months.’” [link]
